Grading Options and Policies

With an instructor's permission, students have the option of receiving the grades CR (credit) or NC (no credit) in place of A-F grades. This option is selected when enrolling in a class and before the add deadline of the semester is which the class is taken. The CR/NC grading option may not be used for any course that will count toward the College's general education, major, or minor requirements. 

Instructors have the right to deny students permission to take courses on a CR/NC basis; thus, a student must seek permission before selecting this option. It is a student’s responsibility to confirm with the instructor the minimum academic level of achievement for the grade of CR.

No more than two courses may be taken on a CR/NC basis in any semester or in summer session, exclusive of physical education courses. Students who enter the College as first-year students may count a maximum of 24 credits of CR/NC courses toward the B.A. or B.S. Second-year transfer may count a maximum of 18 credits of CR/NC. Third-year transfer students may count a maximum of 12 credits of CR/NC.

Students may not use a CR/NC course to repeat a course in which a grade has already been given. If this should occur, the credits in the CR/NC course would not count toward graduation.

Students may audit courses with the permission of the instructor. Courses successfully taken on an audit basis have the symbol AU (audit) recorded in the grade column of the academic record.

As no credits or grade points are earned in audited courses, these courses are not applicable toward a degree but they do count toward a student's semester course load. Instructors have the option of deciding whether students may or may not take their courses on an audit basis.

A grade of W is recorded for any student who discontinues the audit after the drop deadline or who fails to meet the instructor’s standards.

Students must obtain the permission of the instructor in order to change a grade option for a course in which they have enrolled. The deadline is the same as the deadline to add a course. If students have the instructor's permission and are within the add deadline, they may use SIS (the Student Information System) to change a grade option.

The Faculty has adopted a policy that, unless authorized by the Dean's Office, students must complete all course work before taking the final examination. Instructors are not authorized to extend the time for completion of course work without the Advising Dean’s approval. A complete and signed Request for An Incomplete Grade or Request for Examination Postponement should be returned via DocuSign by the deadline shown on the College calendar.

The symbol IN (incomplete) is used when additional course work is required, or when examinations need to be taken in order to fulfill the requirements of a given course. A grade of IN automatically converts to F four weeks after the end of the examination period.

No grade may be changed after it has been submitted to the University Registrar without the approval of the Advising Dean. The Advising Dean is not authorized by the faculty to change a grade submitted to the University Registrar except when an instructor certifies that, because of errors in calculation or transcription, an incorrect grade has been submitted. Extra work to raise a grade, once submitted, is never permitted. 

The College limits the time in which a grade change may be approved to the fall or spring semester following the one in which the grade was received, except when there is indication that the student violated the integrity of the course (e.g., honor violations).

Grade appeals may only relate to errors in computation of the final grade and not to the quality of a student’s work. Appeals may result in a lower grade being awarded.

Students who wish to appeal the computation of a grade or other classroom issue must first attempt to resolve the issue with the instructor of the course. Absent a satisfactory outcome, the student may appeal to the relevant department chair or program director.

If this path proves unsuccessful in the resolution of the matter, the student may appeal to a committee of associate deans in the College of Arts & Sciences. The written appeal should be addressed to the Committee on Final Grade Appeals and mailed to or dropped off with the College of Arts & Sciences, 101 Monroe Hall, P.O. Box 400133; askthecollege@virginia.edu.

Students have one term beyond when a grade posted to submit an appeal. The appeal of a grade from a course offered during a student's final term before graduation must be appealed before graduation.